


The things we call love

by OmittedWords



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Black Family-centric (Harry Potter), Gen, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:33:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28898202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmittedWords/pseuds/OmittedWords
Summary: Love can be messy sometimes.





	The things we call love

'You should do it Cissy. It's the perfect plan, don't you see? For the family, do it for me.'

Bellatrix's voice is low and deadly and Narcissa's heard it a thousand times before. She's heard that same tone being used on other people enough times to know that nothing good will come out of it.

'I don't want to be a part of your plans Bellatrix,' she replies coldly, shaking her head.

'You're the only one who can do this, Cissy. Andromeda would never trust me, but she'd welcome you if you reach out to her. You'll just have to turn up at her doorstep and start crying and she'd believe every single lie you say.'

Narcissa knows it wouldn't work like that. She knows that Andromeda would be sceptical of her and would be even more so if she starts crying. But Bellatrix is still talking about how she could do it, how easy it could be and Narcissa knows it won't and how dare Bellatrix ask it of her.

'Alright,' she yells at last, because she knows Bellatrix enough to know that she wouldn't stop insisting until she'd gotten her way.

Bellatrix gives a nefarious smile. 'Good girl,' she says as she slips Narcissa a small bottle under the table. Narcissa clutches it with shaky, unsteady fingers.

…

Minerva McGonagall sighs as she pens the reply to yet another letter. It's been an hour and she still has a foot-tall stack of correspondence to get through. She rubs her forehead tiredly before opening the next letter.

'Dear professor,' the letter begins in slanting, immaculate handwriting, 'I hope this letter finds you in good health. I need your assistance in a discreet matter that I do not wish to disclose in a letter. Would it be possible to meet you in person to discuss it? Sincerely, Narcissa Black. Ps: If possible, I'd like to meet you somewhere outside of Hogwarts.' The postscript is not as neatly written, as if Miss Black had hurriedly added it before sending the letter.

Minerva's eyes widen in surprise. She hadn't had much of a bond with her former student and she can't think of a possible reason why Miss Black would be asking for her help. Penning a reply quickly, she moves to place it atop the pile of replies she'd finished before hesitating. Instead, she sends the reply off immediately with her own, personal owl.

…

Professor McGonagall walks into The Three Broomsticks exactly on time and Narcissa is pleased. She herself had gotten there ten minutes early because it would be rude to keep her Professor waiting when she was the one who'd asked for help.

'Miss Black.'

'Professor,' she greets with a nod.

'There's no need to call me professor now. You've graduated now,' says Professor McGonagall and Narcissa gives a small, polite smile. The waiter comes over and they both order drinks and Narcissa visibly fidgets.

'What did you want my assistance in?' asks Professor McGonagall and Narcissa is relieved that she goes straight to the matter at hand instead of doing small talk.

'It's-' she hesitates before continuing. 'It's about my sister.'

Her professor's eyebrows furrow. 'Bellatrix?'

She shakes her head. 'No, not Bellatrix. Andromeda, she-' Narcissa trails off when the waiter returns with their drinks and waits until he's out of earshot. 'I'd like to talk to her please.'

Professor McGonagall is giving her the utmost attention and when Narcissa tries to elaborate, the words spill out of her mouth.

'It's just- It's been so long since I've seen her. More than three years now and I was so scared to owl her at first. I finally got the courage to talk to her now but I'm certain that Andromeda would've made it so she wouldn't be found by her family.' Her voice becomes shrill as she continues. 'I don't even know whether she'd even want to talk to me now. I didn't even tell her a proper goodbye and now she's married and has a completely different life that I don't know. It's been so long, and I miss her, I miss my sister.'

'There there, Miss Black- Narcissa,' says her Professor, patting Narcissa's hand. Narcissa drops her gaze down as if she were embarrassed and continues in a softer voice.

'I thought you'd be able to help.'

'I can tell your sister that you want to meet her. I'm sure she would want to.'

Narcissa shakes her head. 'I've- I've got a letter. If you could please give it to her?'

'Of course, I can,' replies Professor McGonagall and it takes a couple of seconds for Narcissa to locate the letter from her purse and pass it to the professor. The outside of the envelope is unmarked, no name written on it.

'Thank you, Professor.' She hesitates before continuing, 'If you don't mind, please don't tell anyone? My family-'

'Don't worry, Miss Black. I understand.'

…

An owl comes two days later with Andromeda's letter and Narcissa is amused to note that it's a common barn owl, the kind that is overflowing in the owlery. It's a short, curt note bearing the time and place for them to meet and Narcissa burns it after reading.

Narcissa arrives at a packed Leaky Cauldron a couple of minutes early to find Andromeda already there with an empty cup in front of her.

'Why did you want to meet me?' It's the first thing that Andromeda says, gaze so intense that it could bore holes into her but Narcissa doesn't wince.

'Because it's been a while since we've met,' says Narcissa, and she doesn't fidget at the silence that follows.

'Why now?' asks Andromeda and her face is still cold and aloof, and Narcissa doesn't smile either.

'I've graduated,' she replies, and mostly importantly, she doesn't cry at the openly hostile expression on her sister's face. She doesn't cry at the less than warm welcome she's received from her sister. Because this is her sister, and Andromeda knows exactly which expressions Narcissa can pull out of the blue.

So, she sits straight and schools her face into indifference and when the waitress comes to take their orders, Narcissa orders a tea and Andromeda doesn't order anything at all.

'You're older,' remarks Andromeda.

'Thank you. You're ancient.'

Andromeda smiles. 'No, I meant you look older. Mature. You look more grown up now.'

And that makes Narcissa grip her teacup a little harder. 'Clearly. I've had some time to grow up since you left. Did you realise that?'

The look on Andromeda's face softens. 'I'm aware.'

Anger seeps into her but Andromeda doesn't deserve any of her rage, so she says, 'I've got my NEWT results.' Because that is a nice, safe topic that's outside all emotional connections. Andromeda prompts her to elaborate and so she does, and they move on from topic to topic. Each one is light and bland but they've both got a lot to catch up on, and Narcissa has Andromeda's unwavering attention.

They talk about light and bland topics but when they part, they agree to meet again a couple of days later. And that, thinks Narcissa, is a very good start.

…

After they've met three times (the time and place always set by Andromeda), Andromeda drops her stoniness enough to allow her shoulders to slouch. Narcissa orders tea for the both of them once, and Andromeda tells her about how she enjoys coffee too now, and would Narcissa try it? She declines but the new fact brings a rush of affection. It's almost like she's been privy to a very personal bit of information even though it's not an earth-shattering secret. The next time Narcissa orders, she orders a tea and a coffee and Andromeda gives her a grin and says, 'Thank you, Cissy.'

Andromeda keeps up the conversation with witty retorts and jokes told in the droll tones. Once, she surprises a loud laughter from Narcissa and for some reason this makes the both of them dissolve into giggles. Narcissa feels her cheeks turn warm in embarrassment, because Cissy does not tip her head back and laugh so loudly in public- so improper. Her cheeks ache from laughter though, and her sister's eyes are shining with mirth and she can't bring herself to care about the impropriety.

She's forgotten this. How fun Andromeda could be and how amusing their banter could be. Andy is playful, warm and inviting and how she has missed this.

…

Bellatrix pays her another visit and complains about the time Narcissa is taking. Too slow. Narcissa knows how to do it, she possesses enough patience to see it through, to do it perfectly.

'You're having cold feet, Cissy,' drawls Bellatrix from her spot on the bed, eyes too bright.

Narcissa disagrees. She's taking it slow because she knows her sister well enough to know that her plan must go perfectly for it to work.

…

When Andromeda finally invites her sister to her house, Narcissa spends the night before pacing in her room. It's a big step, a huge show of trust.

Last phase.

She spends the night mulling over the perfect robes to wear, because first impressions are important, aren't they? Opening her closet, she looks through each of her robes, occasionally taking one out of the closet to model in front of the mirror. The green clashes with her eyes, the red is too garish and the pale cream one makes her look like a corpse. She gets irritated as she dismisses one after another.

Finally she settles on dark grey coloured robes. It's a bit too prim, but it makes her look older and she falls asleep with the robes in her arms.

When morning comes, she has another problem because the little sleep she'd had is evident from the dark circles under her eyes, the same shade as the robes she'd picked out. In the privacy of the bathroom, Narcissa stomps her feet in annoyance before she faces the mirror and tries to make the dark circles fade.

…

The grey is obviously a bad choice because she feels dull and drab against the warm colour palette of the Tonks' residence. Her sister and her husband fit there well but the grey she's wearing clashes and it couldn't be more obvious that she's an outsider. They talk and have tea, but there's tension in the air reminiscent of the reunion between Narcissa and Andromeda.

She doesn't like her sister's husband. Ted, she has to call him now. The way he's so cheerful makes her irate, and he detests the way that he tries to lighten the mood. I hate you, she thinks and feels it burn in her bones. But her sister is there and Narcissa smiles politely and laughs along with Ted's jokes. She watches her tongue and Andy hugs her tight when it's time for her to leave.

…

'Next time, you do it,' instructs Bellatrix.

She wants to, she really does. Yet, she also doesn't want to do it. Things will change, and Narcissa doesn't feel quite ready for it. She wants to say it's not yet time, wants to put it off a little longer.

But she's been at the house more than once now, and she can't think of any logical reason to decline.

'This is the perfect time,' says Bellatrix and Narcissa nods.

'I'll do it next time.'

'Good. Carry the vial with you. It's guaranteed to work, and won't trace back to us. Don't stay too long, Cissy.' Bella is nearly bouncing with excitement.

The time has come.

...

Narcissa feels jealousy curl in her stomach when Andy and Ted become playful in front of her. When Ted makes her sister laugh, she feels the anger burn in her head. Because Ted is the one who caused all this, Ted is the one who took her sister away. I hate you, she thinks. I detest you.

And suddenly, the plan isn't enough for her.

Andromeda leaves the room to bring her coffee (because Narcissa has finally agreed to try it). The vial of poison that Bellatrix had handed her is in her purse, but when Ted turns his back on her (just for a moment, but Narcissa is quick) she gets the satisfaction of killing him with her own wand. 'Avada Kedavra.'

The sound of Ted hitting the floor is followed by a loud scream as Andromeda rushes into the room.

'I saw you Narcissa. I can't believe it! How could you, Narcissa? How could you?' Andromeda thrusts her wand in front of Narcissa's forehead.

'So are you going to kill me Andy? Are you?'

'You murdered my husband.'

'This is all his fault! He took you away, it's all his fault.'

'Are you mental, Narcissa? Are you insane?' Andromeda's wand falls from her grip as she takes hold of Narcissa's shoulders, shaking her. 'How dare you say it's his fault?'

'You're right. It's your fault. You left me behind. Avada Kedavra.' Andromeda doesn't get time to react before Narcissa jabs her wand into Andromeda's chest. Her eyes grow lifeless, and her hands slip off Narcissa's shoulders as she falls backwards onto the floor.

...

'What is wrong with you Narcissa?' Bellatrix paces around Narcissa's room, occasionally shooting off stunners towards the wall. 'The whole point of this was to kill that mudblood husband so we'd have Andy back. What's the point of it if we don't have Andy?' Bellatrix shoots off another stunner towards the wall before turning towards her.

Narcissa sees Bellatrix's wand rising and she moves quicker. 'Bombarda', says Narcissa as Bellatrix says, 'Legilimens'. Bellatrix explodes and there's blood everywhere and Narcissa stays stock still in horror before she turns around and vomits, sinking down to the floor. Bella had raised her wand to read her mind- not kill her and Narcissa feels panic rise in her throat. Everyone would be after her now.

She rubs away the tears streaming from her eyes. No, she wouldn't be caught. There's no way anyone could convict her for Andromeda's murder. Only for Bellatrix's murder, and she could get out of it.

She turns around to take Bellatrix's wand but her head spins when she sees her sister and swiftly turns around, bile rising in her throat again. 'Accio Bellatrix's wand,' she says with her back to her sister. With her sister's wand, she casts crucio onto the table. With her sister's wand, she slashes herself on the stomach and gasps from the mind-numbing pain. With her sister's wand, she casts a final spell. 'Avada Kedavra.' She casts the killing curse on the bed in front of her, before she throws the wand behind her.

Narcissa staggers out of the room, her head spinning from the unbelievable pain. She shouts for her parents, but her voice comes out as a whisper and she falls to her feet right outside her room. There's no way anyone could convict her, not when she'd made such a good case against self-defence. No one would see through her, not when she could weave lies so easily and convincingly. They wouldn't doubt her, not when she could act flawlessly.

But she'd killed her sisters and this, more than the pain made her scream. She screams like she's being murdered, but oh hadn't she murdered three people already? She screams from her throat until it turns into coughs and it feels like her stomach is being ripped apart. The sounds of hurried footsteps are the last thing she hears before her vision darkens.


End file.
